No Words Sandle crushfriendship ficlet
by labgeekluvr
Summary: Greg and Sara are there for each other through breakups, lab explosions, and tough cases.
1. Chapter 1

Title: No Words (Sandle crush/friendship ficlet)

Author: labgeekluvr

Rating: PG

Time: Missing Scene from "Precious Metal", Season 3

Disclaimer: None of the characters are of my creation, all belong to the writers of CBS and CSI:Crime Scene Investigation.

Sara was fed up with men. Last week after spending a lot of time worrying about Hank when she should have been working, she finds out he's in a serious relationship with a shady inurance broker, and that he was cheating on her with Sara. She had told Catherine about it, and after she and Hank had said their goodbyes Catherine took her out for a beer, which helped.

She knew Nick meant well by suggesting that she go out with his friend, but she just wasn't ready. You don't just get over finding out that the guy you've been seeing for months, and who nearly got you in trouble on more than one occasion because of it, is heavily involved with someone else. "I'm better off alone for the time being," Sara thought to herself.

Nick and Sara were working on a new murder case. A retired soldier by the name of Christian Cutler had been murdered and stuffed into a waste barrel. His foot had been severed from his body. It was discovered that Christian participated in a remote control demolition derby. Nick and Sara were analyzing some of the remote control robots used in the derby, and they found blood evidence on three different parts in three different robots. Sara told Nick she would take the blood samples to Greg for analysis.

On her way to the lab she began to regret volunteering to take the samples to Greg herself. She knew that he knew about her and Hank, and that he would probably rub it in and try asking her out himself. She walked into the lab and handed Greg the sample.

"Hey Greg, here's some blood samples from three robots we're looking at. If you could put a rush on this, that would be great," she forced a smile.

"Sure, Sar." Greg said. "Hey, I heard about you and Hank..."

"Yeah, I know. Please do me a favor and don't say 'I told you so'," Sara interrupted.

"Wouldn't dream of it. What I was going to say is that I'm sorry to hear it happened," Greg explained.

"I thought you'd be glad. Figured you'd be trying to take advantage of the situation by now," Sara smiled, surprised.

"Not at all. I mean, the jerk really hurt you. Betrayed your trust. I'm not happy about that. Besides, it's only been a week. My chances of getting shot down are way too high. I'll give it a couple more weeks," he smiled teasingly. "I knew all along that something like this..."

"I thought that you weren't going to say 'I told you so'," Sara frowned and started to walk out. Greg started after her.

"Sara wait," he called. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Greg,", Sara said gently.

"I just wish there was something I could say or do that would make you feel better," Greg said softly.

"I know, Greg," Sara said, "but really there's nothing you can say that will change anything or make me feel any better."

"Well, how about..." he started, then reached for her hand, pulling her from the doorway back into the lab. "How about I don't say anything?"

"That would be a first for you," Sara teased.

"Normally yes, but, truth be told, you have quite a gift for rendering me speechless–in a good way of course," Greg stuttered.

"Greg..." Sara whispered.

"C'mere," Greg whispered, opening his arms and enveloping her in a gentle hug. She laid her head against his shoulder, and was surprised how warm and safe she felt surrounded by his warm arms and the soft cotton of his lab coat. She hugged him tighter, burying her face in the soft blue cotton of his coat. He noticed, and wrapped his arms around her tighter, leaning his head against hers and breathing in the fragrance of strawberries. Sara's emotions got the best of her and tears and sobs began to pour out of her as Greg held her. He reached up and touched her strawberry-scented auburn hair, silently and secretly loving her in his own way.

"Oh, Greg..." Sara sobbed.

"Shhh," Greg whispered. "It's alright. Just cry. My shoulder will catch your tears. I'm here to catch you."

Catherine was walking down the hall towards the conference room. As she passed the lab she witnessed a sweet scene through the glass windows. Sweet, adorable Greg was comforting the woman he had a crush on for a couple years now, and she so needed him right now. Catherine smiled as she saw Greg and Sara. Sara caught a glimpse of Catherine out of the corner of her eye. Catherine noticed, and waved to Sara with a gesture that told her not to worry, nothing would be said, she knew Sara needed this moment.

Sara closed her eyes for another moment as Greg patted her back, waiting for her sobs to subside. When they finally did she lifted her head from his shoulder and gazed into his warm brown eyes. He gazed down at her, gently brushing her tear-streaked cheeks with his thumbs.

"I'd better head down to the conference room. Catherine might have something she wants me to do," Sara said.

"You sure you're okay?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you," she said shakily.

Greg kissed her softly on the forehead. "If you need anything, you know where to find me," he said softly.

Sara nodded and said, "I know, thanks. I'll see you later." Sara pulled away from Greg and headed for the conference room. Greg leaned against the doorframe, watching her walk away for a moment, then turned back to the task at hand, processing blood samples.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: No Words, Chapter 2

Time: Missing Scenes from "Playing With Fire" and "Inside the Box"

A few weeks later things were progressing as normal. Sara was walking down the hallway looking for Grissom. She stopped briefly in front of the lab, only to witness it explode with Greg inside. Greg had suffered some minor burns, Sara a cut on her hand. Grissom actually insisted that she get her injury checked out, even called her "Honey". That left her feeling confused. She was more concerned about Greg's condition, not just physically, but emotionally.

Sara stopped by his hospital room after she had her hand stitched up. Warrick and Catherine had just left, and Greg was dozing. Sara sat beside him on the bed and ran her fingers through his blond spiky hair. He opened his eyes slowly and smiled.

"Hey, Sara," he whispered.

"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep," Sara whispered.

"No, it's okay," Greg said. He noticed her bandages. "What happened to your hand?"

"It got cut in the explosion," Sara said.

"You were there?" Greg asked. "You're lucky you weren't hurt worse."

"I'm fine, Sweetie. How are you feeling?" Sara inquired.

"Tired mostly, they keep giving me stuff that knocks me out. It helps with the pain," Greg answered.

"Then close your eyes and rest," Sara whispered, stroking his face and his hair. "I'll stay with you for a while.

"Promise you won't leave me?" Greg asked sleepily.

"I promise," Sara whispered, kissing his cheek. Greg closed his eyes and let Sara's touch soothe him to sleep. She remained sitting next to him, stroking his hair, not wanting to leave his side.

Greg recovered quickly and was back to work in a couple weeks. Emotionally the incident had taken its toll. It was hard for him to learn that Catherine was at fault for the explosion, leaving volatile chemicals too close to a heat source. "At least she told me in person," he reminded himself. Harder still was coming back to work to a makeshift lab set up next door to the lab that was destroyed. Every bang and bump from the construction made Greg jump. His hands shook, and Grissom had noticed. Towards the end of her shift, Sara stopped by to see how Greg was doing.

"Hey, Greg," Sara said.

"Hey. You heading out soon?" Greg asked.

"Yeah. How was your first day back?" Sara inquired.

"A bit nerve-racking. It's hard to work with all that noise over there," Greg said, pointing in the direction of the old lab. Sara glanced where he had pointed, then looked back to see just how much the ordeal had affected him. She placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing it in a circular motion.

"Are you okay?" Sara asked.

"I've been better. This whole experience has got me pretty shook up," Greg said, showing her how his hands shook..

Sara looked at him sympathetically, then reached out her arms to him. He lay his head on her shoulder, allowing himself to be surrounded by her warmth and the scent of strawberries. He closed his eyes and began to sob. Sara reached up and ran her fingers through his soft blond hair, whispering that everything would be okay.

"Sara, I feel like such a wuss. I shouldn't let this get to me," Greg sobbed.

"Shhh, just let me hold you. You're not a wuss. I'd be worried if this didn't get to you," Sara whispered. "Just cry. My shoulder will catch your tears. I'm here for you."

Sara held him until his sobs subsided. She lifted his head so his eyes met hers and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Feel better now?" she asked. Greg nodded and managed a slight grin. "Good, how about we get some dinner okay?" Greg agreed and they left the lab together in search of mexican food.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: No Words, chapter 3

Time: After "Homebodies"

Sara stood in the driveway of the Kirkwood family, a few steps away from where Angela Kirkwood lay dead in a pool of blood. Angela had been the victim of a rape. There wasn't enough evidence to arrest her perpetrators. Sara had been frustrated at CSI's inability to gather sufficient evidence and eyewitness testimony. The girl's ordeal struck a chord with Sara, and now she was dead. Heartbroken, Sara walked over to the Denali and climbed in the back seat to shut out the crime scene and just cry. "Let Grissom process the scene," she thought to herself as the tears rolled down her face.

Back at the lab, Grissom pulled her aside. "You got yourself too emotionally involved in this case," Grissom cautioned.

"Well then it's probably good I sat in the car instead of gathering evidence," Sara retorted. "Not that it's going to do any good."

"We've got enough to arrest him for murder," Grissom said.

"Too bad we didn't have enough to arrest him for rape, before the girl had to die," Sara snapped.

"That's the nature of this job sometimes, Sara. You have to go where the evidence leads you, and sometimes you have to stop when it doesn't," Grissom said.

Sara couldn't think of a response, she just left Grissom in a huff and headed for the breakroom, fighting back tears. She sat down at the table, buried her head in her arms, and sobbed. Greg walked in and saw Sara crying, walked over to her and sat next to her.

"Sara, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Everything, everything with this job," Sara said, lifting her head. "What good is the work we do if we can't save or protect anyone?"

"You're talking about the Kirkwood case, the rape victim who was just murdered?" Greg asked. Sara nodded. Greg took Sara's hands in his. "Sara, your job isn't to save and protect–that's the police's job. Your job is to gather and process the evidence."

"But we can't even do that right. Isn't that part of saving and protecting?" Sara asked tearfully.

"Sara, you've been at this a long time. You know that you can't win every case. Sometimes the bad guys win unfortunately," Greg said softly.

"They're not supposed to," Sara sulked.

"I know, but sometimes they do. That doesn't make you any less of a good guy. You're just a good guy who had a bad day. You'll get him this time around," Greg smiled.

"It just seems like too little, too late," Sara said.

"You gave your all, Sara. You even gave a piece of your heart, which is risky. You did what you could. Stop beating up on yourself," Greg said. He cupped her chin, turning her face to look into her eyes. "The best thing you can do for Angela now is to concentrate on getting this guy for her murder."

"Well, I'm off the case because I got too emotionally involved," Sara said, looking away.

"Then trust Grissom and the others to do their jobs. They'll get him this time. And you'll get the next bad guy," Greg smiled.

"You think so?" Sara smiled back.

"I know so," Greg said, standing up and taking her hands. "C'mere," he said pulling her up and taking her into a warm, gentle hug.

"Thanks, Greg," Sara said, laying her head on his shoulder and letting his comforting warmth surround her.

"Anytime," Greg whispered, burying his face in her strawberry-scented hair.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: No Words Chapter 4

Time: Missing Scene from "After the Show"

Greg's world was expanding. He had begun his training to become a CSI. He still processed DNA in the lab, but he was starting to assist on cases as well. One was a high profile case involving the death of a model/wannabe showgirl. Much to Nick and Sara's chagrin, Grissom gave Catherine the lead on the case. Catherine decided to take Greg on as her partner, since Warrick was off. Sara complained about it to Nick, who commiserated because they were both up for a promotion, and this case would have shot either of them over the top. "I would rather have you and me over Catherine and Greg any day," Sara fumed. Nick was surprised at Sara's comment, knowing that the two of them were close friends. He reminded her that Greg was training to be a CSI and that this would be good experience for him.

Later that day, Greg approached Sara in the breakroom. "Sara, we need to talk," Greg said.

"What's up?" Sara asked.

"I could ask the same about you," Greg said, obviously irritated. "What do you have against me working with Catherine?"

"Nothing. I..." Sara started.

"That's a lie," Greg interrupted. "Nick said you'd take yourself and him over Catherine and me any day for this case."

"Greg, I didn't mean anything against you," she moved to touch him on the shoulder, but he backed away. She saw his hurt. "Honestly, I didn't. It's just that Nick and I are both up for this promotion, and this case would have gotten one of us there," Sara said.

"So your job is more important than our friendship, is that it?" Greg asked angrily.

"No that's not it. I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're training to be a CSI. I told you before you'd be good at it," Sara said.

"Well now it appears you've changed your mind," Greg said, pushing past her to the coffee pot to retrieve his treasured Blue Hawaiian blend.

"That's not it at all. I was angry at Catherine, not you," Sara said. "Catherine has a way of exploiting situations to her benefit. And this case was no different. I wanted this case. I would have done a good job on this case. Even Nick would have done a good job on this case."

"But not me," Greg said.

"Greg, please," she walked over to him. He tried to move away from her but he was cornered against the coffee pot. She took his coffee cup from him and took his hands. He looked at the floor, not wanting to look at her. She reached up and lifted his chin, trying to get him to look into her eyes. She could see that he was tearing up. She lightly stroked his cheek.

"Greg, I truly am sorry," Sara said softly.

"I just don't understand..." Greg started, "...how one moment I'm good at what I do in your eyes and the next I'm not. You know how much I look up to you, how I..." he broke off, unable to continue. Sara gazed at him for a moment, then wrapped her arms around him. At first he resisted, but then he softened as tears began to flow.

"And deep down you know that I truly care about you, too," Sara said. "I've made a mistake and I'm sorry. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you." She squeezed him tightly and then took his face in her hands. "Listen to me, you are good at what you do. I have complete faith in you. I think I may have more faith in you than I have in myself, which is why I work so hard to prove myself."

"Is that the only reason?" Greg asked.

"What do you mean?" Sara asked.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're working so hard to prove yourself in order to impress Grissom," Greg said gravely.

"Now who's being unfair?" Sara asked.

"I don't think I'm being unfair, just observant," Greg said. Sara turned away from him and walked over to the soda machine. "And you know, Sara, he's not going to buy it. He's not impressed by people who try too hard to impress him. Ask Nick, he'll tell you. Heck, I could tell you that."

"You just did," Sara said sarcastically.

"I guess I did," Greg said. "I've got to wonder, how is trying to impress Grissom any different than Catherine's motives for what she does?"

"As if that's what I'm doing," Sara snapped.

"Isn't it?" Greg asked. Sara tried to storm out of the breakroom, but Greg stopped her. "Sara, answer my question," Greg demanded, taking her shoulders. Sara pushed him away and stormed down the hall. "Sara," Greg called after her, but she was long gone. Greg fetched his coffee cup from the counter and sat down at the table, burying his head in his hands.

Nick walked into the breakroom and saw Greg there, looking unhappy. He grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down next to his colleague.

"Hey, Sanders," Nick said. "Good job assisting Catherine on the case. She said you were a great help."

"Thanks," Greg said, trying to muster a smile.

"You don't seem convinced," Nick said, concerned.

"Oh, Sara and I were just talking. Looks like foot-in-mouth disease is going around," Greg joked.

"Said something you wish you hadn't?" Nick said.

"I confronted her about what you told me she said about me and Catherine working the case. And she tried to apologize, saying that you and she were up for a promotion, and that she really wanted this case because that would move one of you along," Greg said. "I dunno, it just sounded to me like her job means more to her than I do, and I was really hurt by that."

"Did you tell her that?" Nick asked.

"I tried. She said something about believing in me more than she did herself, and that's why she pushes so hard, but I told her I thought she did that for different reasons," Greg said.

"Like what?" Nick asked.

"Grissom," Greg said gravely, "like she's working hard trying to impress him."

"Well, we both know that will get her nowhere, and she'll find out soon enough," Nick said.

"I just don't want her to set herself up to get hurt," Greg said.

"Sounds like you really care about her," Nick smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Greg said, swallowing a sip of coffee.

"Well, sometimes you have to let the people you care about have enough space to make their mistakes. Then when they fall on their face you can be there to help pick them up and dust them off," Nick said. "Just give her a little space, time to let this blow off. Like I said, she'll learn what trying to impress Grissom will get her. Then just be there for her when she needs to pick up the pieces."

"I guess you're right. Thanks, Nick," Greg said, mustering a smile.

"No problem, Bud," Nick said, standing up. "Don't drink too much of that stuff now, it makes you hyper."

Greg managed a laugh as his friend left the breakroom. Greg finished his coffee and went back to the lab. He took out a piece of paper and wrote Sara a note.

_Sara, I'm sorry for what I said earlier about you trying to impress Grissom–I was out of line. I hope you can forgive me and that you feel you can still come to me if you need to talk about things. I also want you to know that I know you didn't mean to hurt my feelings. I understand how much this promotion means to you. I hope you get it, because I know you work really hard, and you are good at what you do. Just know that I'm here for you if you need anything._

_Take Care,_

_Greg_

He put the note in Sara's mailbox and went back to work. Sara walked by the mailbox and noticed there was a note for her. She opened the note and read it, and tears came to her eyes. She was just about to head down to the lab to find Greg when she looked up and saw him standing there. He walked over to her, his arms extended to her. "Truce?" he smiled. She smiled back. "Truce," she whispered, holding him tight.


End file.
